State of Emergency lifted in Calgary

CALGARY – The city is no longer in a state of local emergency.

It was lifted at 10:16 a.m. on Thursday, two weeks after being put in place due to devastating flooding.

The Bow and Elbow rivers began to swell on the morning of June 20th, eating away at riverbanks and overtaking city streets.

Several riverfront communities were forced to gather their belongings and evacuate their homes, and the list of impacted areas continued to grow for 24 hours.

The Director of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency (CEMA) says they’re now transitioning to more localized recovery efforts.

“Now that the majority of our city is functional again, focus will shift to specific buildings and populations that are dealing with long-term flooding impacts,” said Bruce Burrell in a news release. ”Public safety has always been, and continues to be, our first priority.”

The state of emergency was lifted one day before the start of the 2013 Calgary Stampede.

While the city is no longer is a state of local emergency, Calgarians are reminded to stay off the rivers and away from riverbanks which have been badly eroded and are not safe.

Community Support Centres

Community Support Centres were established in flood affected areas to support citizens and small business owners with information and coordination of required essential services.

As the majority of essential services have now been restored, the three Community Support Centres remaining are planned to close as follows:

• Bowness Community Association – will close July 4 at noon
• Cliff Bungalow/Mission Community Association – will close July 4 at noon
• Elbow Park Tennis Club– 800 34 Ave S.W. – will close July 5 at noon

Reception Centres

Over the last two weeks, The City has provided reception centres to help connect Calgarians displaced by the flood with essentials such as food, clothing and shelter.  As the majority of citizens have now been connected, the need for reception centres has greatly diminished.

Effective immediately, the registration centre located at Centre Street Church has closed.

If you have been displaced by the flood, in need of housing, and have not previously registered at the Centre Street Church registration centre, you’re asked to call 311 and indicate you have been displaced by the flood and in need of housing.

Displaced residents are reminded to:

• Apply to the Province’s Disaster Recovery Program. Visit http://alberta.ca/drpcalgary.cfm or call 1-888-671-1111 / 1-780-422-0300 to learn where the closest registration centre is.
• Obtain a pre-loaded debit card. Visit http://alberta.ca/preloaded-debit-card.cfm or call 1-866-825-4455 / 310-4455 for more information.

For counselling and emotional support services, please contact the Distress Centre’s crisis line at 403-266-4357. Trained volunteers are available to answer your call 24/7.

For information on community, health, social services and other agencies who can answer questions in many languages 24 hours a day, please call 211.

GALLERY: Calgary Flooding